The Iron Ant Warrior crumpled like a tin can as Alexx landed on top of it. Another one lunged at him, its blades flying for the side of his stomach, but he knocked it away with a backhanded strike. The blow easily crushed the insect’s arm and threw its body a dozen feet away.

‘Alright,’ Alexx thought as he hyped himself up. ‘Five minutes, let’s go.’

The battle had just passed the 10-minute mark, Yang and Zed had both taken their shifts and still, the horde of Iron Ant Drones reached the horizon.

More Soldier ants had appeared this time around so The Guardian Elder was still in the sky, chasing down the flying bugs as they dodged around her. As long as The Guardian Elder was being distracted by the Soldiers the only Drones that died were the ones that got past the wall of corpses. Even then they were still being stopped from advancing too far by the Monstrous Helm, so only a few players and Mountain Goats were dealing with them.

‘I guess they don’t matter though,’ Alexx thought as he ducked under a slash from a Warrior. ‘The Helm will hold them back, we just need to keep fighting and be careful when the Guardians get here.’

Alexx quickly uppercut the Warrior in front of him. He could feel the carapace cave under his blow before the neck gave out and the insect’s head was sent flying into the air.

Two more Warriors leapt out from behind a Mountain Goat and charged at him. He could just barely detect them with [DANGER SENSE] through the cloud of dust and smoke. Grabbing the neck stump of the first ant, Alexx brought out the full power of his 156 STR and flung the giant insect corpse at the attacking bugs with one arm.

Knocked back, one of the Warriors was pushed into the path of a Mountain Goat’s [SKULL BASH] and was flattened instantly. The other fell within the range of another player and, slowed by the body draped over itself, the ant was too slow to react and had its head cut off by the player’s ax.

Akexx had no time to watch the ant’s body hit the ground as he dodged another slash. His leg flew out like a whip and nearly struck the Warrior’s spindly leg, but the ant was able to move its appendage out of the way while striking again. Alexx raised his arms to guard and the blades dug into the armor of his bracers, slicing into the flesh beneath.

However, the blades didn’t get far, in fact, they barely even drew blood. Between [TOUGH HIDE] and his new equipment, Alexx had an average armor stat of 32. It wasn’t enough to outright ignore the Warriors’ attacks, but it was enough to give Alexx some much-needed peace of mind. He wasn’t a glass cannon anymore.

‘I guess I can’t block swords just yet. ,’ he thought. His gauntlets were still the Iron Ant Brusiers, which were tough, but clearly not enough to defend him from the attacks of the Warriors. *Maybe Rika will make me a new set when we get back.*

Twisting his arm to the side, he yanked the Warrior forward by its arm. Striking the ant’s chest ripped the arm from its shoulder and caved its carapace inward. Alexx kept fighting as the ant fell to the ground twitching.

Alexx stepped to the side as a Mountain Goat charged forward, nearly trampling him as it moved closer to the wall of bodies. Out of the corner of his eye, Alexx saw several Iron Ant Warriors grouping up against a Tank player. They were doing well on their own, but it was clear they had no opportunity to attack, and was forced to simply receive blow after blow as his health was slowly stripped away.

‘He’s a little too far…’ The radius of the Monstrous Helm could only cover the entire canyon when the user was standing in the middle of it. If he goes too far to the left or right he would create an opening in their defenses, and the Iron Ant Drones could overwhelm them.

Alexx was about to turn away when one of the surrounding Warriors landed a slash on the Tank’s arm. The attack forced him to drop his weapon and he was now on his knees as the Warriors prepared to tear through his armor.

Without a second thought, Alexx launched himself forward with [LEAP], closing the distance in an instant. He flew directly into the side of the first Warrior, crushing its arm and leaving a huge dent in its torso. The disarmed player did their best to defend himself from the other ants with his shield but was unable to retrieve his weapon as he focused on survival.

As the wounded ant was sent flying, Alexx turned to evade the attack of another Warrior before lashing out with a rising kick to the abdomen. Blood and viscera burst from the ant’s mouth as Alexx’s kick caved in its carapace, forcing the organs up and out. The force of the blow sent the dying ant flying over a dozen feet into the air before crashing to the ground.

‘Two more.’

One of the remaining Warriors turned its attention away from the other player to attack Alexx, both of its blades lurching for him as they attempt to rip his chest open. Alexx kicks forward, hoping to strike the ant before its blades reach him.

His eyes widen in shock as the Warrior uses one of its claws to deflect his strike, taking minimal damage as his attack dented the metal. The other blade continued forward, easily piercing his light leather body armor and drawing a shallow but long cut along his back.

Alexx hissed from the feeling of the cold metal slicing through his skin. With his kick deflected he was incredibly off balance and his wounded back was to the Warrior. He turned quickly, hoping to catch the ant with a backhanded strike. Once again, Alexx was astonished to see the ant block the attack with both claws, greatly cushioning the blow that would have demolished a single arm.

‘Still not enough though.’

No matter how effective the block was, it couldn’t stop Alexx’s 156 Strength. The Warrior was sent flying back, only stopping when it hit the large body of a Mountain Goat and became tangled in its fur. The ant’s blades had been dented from the force, and while its shell was intact there were visible cracks forming at various points along its arms.

Cutting itself free with its warped iron claws, the Warrior stood on top of the goat for a moment, staring at Alexx before moving to a different part of the battlefield.

‘It retreated?’ Alexx’s eyes narrowed. ‘I guess this will be another named monster if it survives.’

Alexx quickly returned his attention to the battles around him. He had lost sight of the injured player in all the commotion, but he doubted that they were going to die when face with a single Warrior. Hoping that they were okay now, Alexx was about to go back to his original position in the center of the canyon, only to realize he wasn’t sure where that was.

The canyon was wide and long enough that it was impossible to get a sense of perspective. He vaguely recalled the direction he came from, but he was completely lost without anything to use for scale.

‘...I guess I’ll just stay here then.’

With Soze and the others looking down from above, he was sure that they would notice if something went wrong and would come to tell him where he needed to be.

With that decided, another group of Warriors leapt out at him, and the battle continued.